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According to leading Net Promoter Score® Software-as-a-Service provider CustomerGauge, the banking industry still has a long way to go in the Customer Satisfaction department. A relatively new industry commonly known as FinTech (Financial Technology companies) is giving the banking industry a real run for the money. Read more →

We all know why it’s important to stay close to our customers throughout their customer journeys. So, I’ll leave the obvious to another blogger. But how do you go about it? And just whose responsibility is it? Those are entirely different questions.

We’re big fans of that down-home feeling you get when you visit the original Starbucks coffee shop in Seattle. And nothing helps carry that down-home feeling through the stores better than the hand-written signs that describe their products.

But which, we ask, is a greater risk to your brand: losing that folksy, homespun look, or losing your credibility among your customers, the vast majority of whom have at least graduated from high school? Read more →

Recently, a “leading provider of civil and criminal justice technology solutions for public safety, investigation, corrections and monitoring” published a press release touting a Net Promoter Score of 82. If you think that’s incredible, then I think you may be on to something.

Today, telecom providers spend millions of dollars developing and promoting their brands. Over time, their investments burn brand-positive images on the mind of their consumers. Let’s say that one of those consumers – we’ll call him “Joe” – is driving his kids to school, when a white utility van cuts into his lane, forcing him onto the shoulder at 60 miles per hour. After quickly regaining his senses and glancing in the rear-view mirror to make sure his kids are alright, Joe looks back at the van and sees the logo of his telecom provider. And suddenly, the company’s carefully crafted brand fades from Joe’s mind, to be replaced by a more personal, and more permanent, image. Read more →

This MarketPoint infographic explores the high-stakes world of mergers & acquisitions (M&As). Did you know 2015 was a record year for M&As? The total global M&A volume that year exceeded $4.25 trillion U.S. dollars. And a “trillion” is a lot! If you stacked just one trillion U.S. dollar bills on your kitchen table, the stack would reach 63,000 miles into space and would weigh more than the Golden Gate Bridge! But 80% of M&A deals fail. So if you’re thinking about playing this risky game, you’d better download our infographic and keep it handy. All sources cited.

This MarketPoint infographic draws from over a dozen published resources on the challenges associated with managing in a multi-generational workplace – and offers suggestions to help smooth the effect of those differences. All sources cited.

Sailors carry charts to help them avoid the shallows and find the channels – or seek the counsel of local captains and fishermen when they enter new waters. Coaches and managers of professional sports teams spend countless hours reviewing videotapes of their next opponent. Generals need to know their opponents’ strength, their numbers, their locations and their political aims before waging battle. Read more →

Just last month, a colleague shared an old saw commonly cited by manufacturers. “I like to tell customers,” she said, “we can make it good, we can make it fast, and we can make it cheap – pick any two.”

Aphorisms, like this one, are memorable partly because they are pithy, partly because they are delightfully clever, and partly because they are true – or in this case, they were true when they were coined. Read more →

A client recently asked us, “Are there really any good reasons to consider a Facebook promotion?” (They had owned Facebook page for quite some time, but until now, hadn’t ever advertised there.) I explained that, when the circumstances are right, a Facebook promotion can be an organization’s least expensive way to engage with its followers. And that for most organizations, it’s not a particularly good place to sell.